BUHARI MUST CONDEMN THE DSS, SACK LAWAN MUSA DAURA, FOR THE SHAMEFUL, SINISTER AND UNSUBSTANTIATED LINKAGE OF IPOB TO THE KILLING OF SUSPECTED TERRORIST FULANI HERDSMEN IN ABIA STATE
After several months of silence and inaction by the Buhari administration regarding the rampant killings and destruction of Nigerian communities by the terrorist Fulani Herdsmen, the Department of Security Services, following its suspicious clandestine “investigation”, issued a reckless and violence inducing statement indicting the peace loving Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) group of kidnapping, and killing suspected terrorist Fulani herdsmen.
The statement reads: “The Service has uncovered the heinous role played by members of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), in the abduction/kidnap of five Hausa-Fulani residents, namely Mohammed Gainako, Ibrahim Mohammed, Idris Yakubu and Isa Mohammed Rago at Isuikwuato LGA in Abia State,” Mr. Opuiyo said. The abducted men were later discovered at the Umuanyi forest, Abia State, where they were suspected to have been killed by their abductors and buried in shallow graves, amidst fifty (50) other shallow graves of unidentified persons. Arrest and investigation conducted so far, revealed that elements within the IPOB, carried out this dastardly action.” (The Trent, April 9, 2016)
While all well-meaning people have called for and would welcome thorough investigation of the growing violence under this administration, one wonders why it took the killing of 5 suspected terrorist Fulani herdsmen in Igbo land, a region disdained by the administration, for it to hastily and prematurely issue an indictment of a peaceful organization like IPOB.
According to a report titled “Terror in the Food Basket” published by SMB Intelligence, a data mining and research firm that provides analysis of Nigeria’s socio-political and economic situations, over 2,000 people have been killed in conflicts between the herdsmen and host communities in the region in 2015 alone. In comparison, according to the report, the Boko Haram insurgency kills 2,500 people annually.
RELATED: Nigerians, WAKE UP! There Is A GENOCIDE Going On In The Middle Belt [MUST READ]
The fact that the terrorist Fulani herdsmen have matched Boko Haram killing rate, and the failure of the government to take concrete steps into resolving the issue and punishing perpetrators, only emboldens the terrorists and leave terrorized citizens and communities no option but to defend themselves.
To avoid further scapegoating of Ndigbo as a result of this reckless DSS statement, all Igbo leaders and organizations and peace loving people everywhere must immediately raise their voices in condemnation of Mr Lawan Musa Daura, the DSS Director and his agency. I am also calling on President Buhari to immediately sack Mr Daura, while condemning and disassociating his administration from the sinister DSS statement.
Edward Oparaoji is a professor of pharmacy and chairman, Nigerian-American Leadership Council, a Washington DC Based think-tank. He is a member of the Editorial Board of The Trent, one of the most influential online newspapers in Nigeria. Connect with him on Facebook.
The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author.
